KOTA KINABALU – Fledgling Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) is eyeing the Tenom and Papar parliamentary constituencies in the coming 15th general election (GE15), said party president Datuk Peter Anthony.
While the seven-month-old political outfit has yet to decide the number of seats it is going to contest, the two seats are seen as important.
Anthony is the assemblyman for Melalap, Tenom while KDM deputy president Datuk Juil Nuatim is the representative for Limbahau, Papar.
The president also did not rule out the possibility of KDM contesting the Kota Kinabalu seat.
Anthony said though KDM is a small party that has yet to be accepted into the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition, it will continue to support the Sabah government led by Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the federal government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
However, he said he was confident that Hajiji would consider KDM’s application.
GRS currently comprises Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Sabah Star, the Sabah Progressive Party, and its latest addition, the United Sabah National Organisation.
Earlier, Anthony announced a new KDM member, businessman Datuk Winston Liaw, who is the president of the Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents.
Liaw was appointed as KDM’s Kota Kinabalu division chief.
Anthony said this development showed that KDM has support and participation from the Chinese community, and he is sure that more will join.
Anthony was a Warisan vice-president who defected with Juil last December and formed KDM in February this year.
On May 26, Anthony was found guilty by the Kuala Lumpur sessions court for falsifying a letter from the Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice-chancellor’s office, and sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM50,000.
But he was allowed a stay of execution pending an appeal at the high court. – The Vibes, September 3, 2022
